Neural correlates of central pain sensitization in chronic low back pain: a resting-state fMRI study.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to explore the neural correlates of pain sensitization in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP). While the association between cLBP and pain sensitization has been widely reported, the underlying brain mechanism responsible for this relationship requires further investigation. METHODS: Our study included 56 cLBP patients and 56 healthy controls (HC). Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were obtained, and the voxel-wise amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was calculated to identify brain alterations in cLBP patients compared to HC groups. Pearson correlation coefficients were computed to explore the association between clinical data and brain alterations. Furthermore, mediation analyses were performed to investigate the path association between brain alterations and pain-related behaviors. RESULTS: Our findings revealed that patients with cLBP exhibited higher sensitivity, attention, and catastrophizing tendencies towards pain compared to HC. Furthermore, cLBP patients displayed significantly higher ALFF in various brain regions within the "pain matrix" and the default mode network when compared to HC. The altered precuneus ALFF was positively correlated with pain intensity (R = 0.51, P<0.001) and was negatively correlated with pain sensitivity (R = -0.43, P<0.001) in cLBP patients. Importantly, the effect of altered precuneus ALFF on pain intensity was mediated by pain threshold in these patients. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that altered neural activity in the precuneus may contribute to pain hypersensitivity, which further exacerbating pain in cLBP patients.

Pathological Clinical Analysis and Imaging Manifestations for Spinal Bone Tumors Based on Cement Injection.

In order to explore the imaging manifestations and pathological characteristics of spine tumors, this article explores the clinical diagnosis and treatment methods through multi-sample case analysis with the support of imaging, and proposes a targeted treatment method that uses a special PVP needle with a beveled puncture surface for puncture. Moreover, this article uses the supporting PVP syringe for bone cement injection, develops a health status questionnaire, and adopts a scoring method for comprehensive assessment. The purpose of this article is to show that through the combination of preoperative radiotherapy and postoperative bracing, bone cement injection to treat vertebral tumors can immediately obtain satisfactory pain relief. Finally, through case analysis and image performance, we can see that the method proposed in this article has a certain effect.